Rocky River crossing guards upset by pay cut, mayor says they are paid for hours they work

View full sizeJOHN BISESI/SUN NEWSCrossing guard Sharon Trnavsky in her rain coat helps Rocky River students safely cross the busy intersection at Detroit and Lakeview Roads on Sept. 19.

ROCKY RIVER - Less than two weeks before the start of the school year, Police Chief Kelly Stillman informed the city’s crossing guards that their hours would be cut from 25 to 15 hours per week with no rate adjustment, resulting in a pay decrease from about $8,000 to $5,000 per year.

Most of the 23 guards thought this was an excessive cut in pay that came with little notice at a meeting that was not mandatory.

“We feel singled out. We’re not a union and a lot of guards are thinking about quitting,” said crossing guard Laura Michael.

“The city won’t acknowledge that it’s a pay cut. We agreed that we weren’t working five hours (per day), but then why wasn’t our pay upped to make it competitive with surrounding cities?”

A request by a crossing guard for an extended family medical leave brought the issue to light for Mayor Pamela Bobst. The city’s human resources director informed her that they would be paying sick time for 21 hours per week. The guard was granted the time off and substitutes filled in, but Bobst thought the 21 hours was too much, as guards are normally at their post for only an hour both in the morning and afternoon.

A few years ago, Bobst noticed that the guards were at their posts at noon, even though children no longer went home for their lunch hour. Their schedules were then reduced from six to five hours.

“I assumed people get paid for the hours that they work,” Bobst said. “Many have been crossing guards for years and are wonderful ambassadors. Our parents and children think highly of them, but if you’re not working you can’t be paid.”

The job serves as a supplement income to some, but a livelihood to others who are retired. Guards who have worked for more than 20 years have not surpassed the $9.56 rate.

In Bay Village, guards are considered traffic control and fall under the police department. Finance director Steve Presley said their crossing guards are paid between $9.24 and $13.12 per hour depending on how many years they have worked.

Westlake employs about 25 guards through the city’s safety department. They are paid between $10.21 and $15.99 per hour according to finance director Prashant Shah.

“For any given post, it’s a total of three hours a day,” said Westlake Police Capt. Guy Turner.

Bobst, Stillman, and Lt. Carl Gulas attended a second meeting on Aug. 26 that left the 12 guards in attendance feeling upset, mistreated, and concerned that posts would be eliminated.

“As is done every year, a review is done to make sure posts are strategically placed and meeting safety needs of school children and others,” said Bobst. “Chief Stillman is committed to making sure this is a good program.”

The group was surprised when given time cards that were to be filled out with their weekly hours even though post times remained the same. The guards asked for their pay cut to be reconsidered, but Bobst told them it was unethical to be paid for hours they do not work.

Guards contended that they were called “morally wrong” for accepting the extra pay. They also claimed Bobst told them they were “lucky that the city was not requesting repayment.”

Bobst said this language was not used.

“I couldn’t wait to get out of that meeting and apply for another job,” said substitute guard John Highman.

Stillman said that current guards were welcome to quit, as there are people who would gladly accept the part-time position.

In a letter that Michaels wrote on behalf of all the guards, she explained that the pay system has been organized the same way for more than 30 years.

“Back in the 70s, the city was experiencing a difficult time recruiting school guards,” the letter read. “There were several unmanned posts that the police had to cover, thus taking them away from other duties.”

“In an attempt to attract more people to become guards, the decision was made to pay them for five hours per day. They were also allowed to accrue sick time based on the amount of hours they worked. This seemed to remedy the problem and several of the policeman’s wives took positions as guards. Some of them are still working today.”

Sharon Trnavsky said that in the past she turned down a different job in order to stay on as a crossing guard.

“Now that opportunity is gone because I liked this job and the children. If they expect responsible guards they’re going to have to pay more,” she said.

When paid for 25 hours per week, $220,000 is budgeted for the crossing guards each year.

“I don’t think taxpayers want their money paid in that fashion,” said Stillman, who signs the guards’ payroll. “We did a cross section of other communities and the max is three hours (per day). We felt that this was fair. At this time there is no money in the budget for a pay raise."

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.